Stephon Marbury
|+ colspan="2" style="text-align: center; font-size: 125%; color:#000000; background-color:#ffffff"|' ' |- | colspan="2" style="text-align: center;"| Marbury playing for the Beijing Ducks |- Beijing Ducks |- | style="vertical-align: top;"|'Position' |Point guard |- | style="vertical-align: top;"|'League' |Chinese Basketball Association |- Personal information |- | style="vertical-align: top;"|'Born' | Brooklyn, New York |- | style="vertical-align: top;"|'Nationality' | American |- Physical stats |- | style="vertical-align: top;"|'Listed height' |6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) |- | style="vertical-align: top;"|'Listed weight' |205 lbs (93 kg) |- Career information |- | style="vertical-align: top;"|'High school' | Abraham Lincoln (Brooklyn, New York) |- | style="vertical-align: top;"|'College' |Georgia Tech (1995-1996) |- | style="vertical-align: top;"|'NBA Draft' | 1996 / Round: 1 / Pick: 4th overall |- | colspan="2" style="text-align: center;"| Selected by the Milwaukee Bucks |- | style="vertical-align: top;"|'Playing career' | 1996-present ( |1|1}} years) |- Career history |- |1996-1999 |Minnesota Timberwolves |- |1999-2001 | New Jersey Nets |- |2001-2004 | Phoenix Suns |- |2004-2009 |New York Knicks |- |2009 |Boston Celtics |- |2010 |Shanxi Zhongyu Brave Dragons |- |2010-2011 | Foshan Dralions |- |2011-present |Beijing Ducks |- Career highlights and awards |- | colspan="2" style="text-align: left;"| *2× NBA All-Star (2001, 2003) *2× All-NBA Third Team (2000, 2003) *NBA All-Rookie First Team (1997) *4× CBA All-Star (2010-2013) *CBA All-Star Game MVP (2010) *CBA Champion (2012) |- |} Stephon Xavier Marbury is an American professional basketball player currently playing for the Beijing Ducks of the CBA. The 6 ft 2, 205 lb point guard/shooting guard was selected out of the Georgia Institute of Technology by the Milwaukee Bucks with the 4th overall pick in the 1996 NBA Draft, but was traded shortly thereafter to the Minnesota Timberwolves. He was an NBA All-Star in 2001 and 2003 and was voted into the All-NBA Third Team in 2000 and 2003. He is known for his quickness, ball handling, flashy moves and perimeter scoring. He has also played for the Minnesota Timberwolves, New Jersey Nets, Phoenix Suns and Boston Celtics. Early years Marbury has often gone by the nickname "Starbury", a name created during his youth. Marbury, the sixth of seven children, was born and raised on Coney Island in Brooklyn, New York. He attended elementary school PS 238. During his teenage years, he starred at NYC powerhouse Lincoln, and was often heralded as the next great NYC point guard, expected to follow the success of NBA stand-outs Mark Jackson and Kenny Anderson. While still attending Abraham Lincoln High School (NY) he was one of the subjects of Darcy Frey's book "The Last Shot," which followed three seniors and Marbury, a freshman, through the early months of his first season with the school's team. In high school he played for the nationally recognized AAU team, the New York Gauchos, out of the Bronx. College Recruitment He was named a 1995 McDonalds All-American along with future NBA All-Stars Kevin Garnett, Shareef Abdur-Rahim, and Antawn Jamison. Marbury was listed as one of the top five recruits in the country that year and heavily pursued by Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets coach Bobby Cremins. Eventually, Marbury would commit to Georgia Tech. Georgia Tech At Georgia Tech, Marbury took over the starting point guard role left vacant with Travis Best's departure. Teaming with future NBA players Matt Harpring and Drew Barry, Marbury led Georgia Tech to a 24–12 record enroute to the Regional Semifinal game of the NCAA tournament, where the Yellow Jackets lost to Cincinnati 87–70. For the season, Marbury averaged 18.9 ppg and 4.5 assists and was named a Third Team All American by the Associated Press, along with several conference honors. Following the conclusion of the season he announced his intention to declare himself eligible for the NBA draft. NBA career Early professional career He was selected fourth overall by the Milwaukee Bucks in the 1996 NBA Draft, then traded to the Minnesota Timberwolves for the draft rights to Ray Allen (who was drafted immediately after him) and a future first-round pick. In his first season in the league, Marbury averaged 15.8 points and 7.8 assists per game and was named to the 1997 All-Rookie Team. He, along with Kevin Garnett, led the Timberwolves to the NBA Playoffs in 1997 and 1998. Marbury fell out with Timberwolves management stemming from a dispute with coaches about his role in the offense, and his agent David Falk demanded a trade during the lockout-shortened 1999 season, Marbury was traded to the New Jersey Nets in a three-way trade in which Terrell Brandon was sent from Milwaukee to Minnesota and Sam Cassell was sent from New Jersey to Milwaukee. New Jersey and Phoenix While in New Jersey, Marbury blossomed into an All-Star. He made the All-NBA 3rd Team in 2000 and was selected as a reserve for the 2001 All-Star Game, where he made 2 crucial 3s to win the game. Despite his individual achievements, he never made the playoffs as a member of the Nets. He was traded to the Phoenix Suns in the 2001 offseason for Jason Kidd. Teamed with standout players such as Shawn Marion and Amare Stoudemire, Marbury helped the Suns qualify for the playoffs in 2003. In the opener of Western Conference first round series, Marbury banked in a 3-pointer at the overtime buzzer which stunned the top-seeded San Antonio Spurs, 96–95. However, this would still not be enough to get the playoff series victory Marbury has still failed to accomplish to this day. To add to matters, Stoudemire became injured in the beginning of the 2003-2004 season, and Phoenix struggled to a 3–15 start. New York Knicks Marbury, along with Penny Hardaway and Cezary Trybanski, was traded to the New York Knicks on January 5, 2004 for Howard Eisley, Charlie Ward, Antonio McDyess, Maciej Lampe, draft rights to Miloš Vujanić, a first-round 2004 draft choice, and an additional future first-round draft choice, likely to be in the 2010 draft. This brought Marbury full circle, as he grew up in New York and was a lifelong Knicks fan. Marbury played for the U.S. (Dream Team IV) in the 2004 Summer Olympics, the first of the U.S. teams composed of NBA players to fail to win the gold medal at the Olympics. He and his teammates returned with bronze. Despite the disappointment, Marbury scored a U.S. team Olympic record 31 points in a game against Spain. During the 2005-06 season Marbury feuded with head coach Larry Brown. Towards the end of the 2005-2006 season, the Knicks' poor performance combined with Marbury's public spats with his coach led to a severe decline in Marbury's popularity, with Frank Isola and Michael O'Keefe of the New York Daily News stating that Marbury is "the most reviled athlete in New York." The public feud between Marbury and Brown was one of the reasons Larry Brown was fired at the end of the 2005-06 season. Isiah Thomas took over the coaching role and the Knicks were slightly more successful during the 2006-2007 season, surpassing the previous year's 23 wins 54 games into their 82-game season before falling off and finishing with only 33. Despite the fact that Marbury had less impressive statistics than in prior years, some pundits claimed that Marbury's newfound unselfishness was key to the team's apparent improvement towards the end of the season. The start of the 2007-08 season found the Knicks again floundering and Marbury again involved in a public feud, this time with Knicks coach and president Isiah Thomas. The pivotal incident involved Marbury leaving the team after learning that Thomas planned to remove him from the starting lineup. There were reports that Marbury and Thomas actually came to blows on the team plane, and that Marbury threatened to blackmail Thomas for taking him out of the starting lineup—both in the presence of Knick teammates. Following the incident and Marbury's return to the team in mid-November after one missed game, Knick fans consistently chanted "fire Isiah" at home games and constantly booed virtually all of the Knicks, especially Marbury. The dysfunction and drama were accompanied by 8 straight Knicks losses, and several newspapers reported that Isiah's job was in jeopardy. There were also rumors that the Knicks would like to trade Marbury to another team. However, this proved difficult for the Knicks to accomplish, in view of the two years and approximately $42 million remaining under his contract with the Knicks. Following a season-ending ankle surgery in February 2008, which was reportedly deemed unnecessary by the team, but which Marbury elected to undergo regardless, Isiah Thomas hinted that Marbury could have played his final game in a Knicks uniform. However, in April 2008, it was Thomas who was removed from his position; first as president, being replaced by Donnie Walsh, and then as coach, being replaced by Mike D'Antoni. After D'Antoni took over, the Knicks signed Chris Duhon, leading to speculations over Marbury's future in New York. Marbury arrived to training camp, and competed with Duhon for the starting point guard job. Duhon won the position battle, and Marbury was put on the team's inactive list, according to D'Antoni, to avoid embarrassing him with limited playing time. However, when D'Antoni told Marbury that Marbury had an opportunity to play approximately 35 minutes in a game if he wanted to, Marbury, apparently feeling he and the Knicks had gone their own ways, refused. Following that, on December 1st, Marbury was banned from attending any Knicks' practices or games, and was instructed to stay home. On December 16th, Marbury bought a ticket for a courtside seat and attending a Knicks road game where, while spending most of the game talking on his cellphone, he was greeted by several celebrities in attendance at the game but was ignored by all of the Knicks players. Despite all this, the Knicks have maintained that Marbury will not be traded, released or waved. After the 2008-2009 NBA season, Marbury will become a free agent. Trade rumors On January 2, 2009, Marbury appeared at an NBA game featuring the Minnesota Timberwolves. At the game, Marbury spoke with television reporters about his desire to reunite with his former teammate Kevin Garnett in Boston. Marbury stated, When I was younger, I had a different disposition as far as how I wanted to live life. Reuniting with Kevin is something that I would love. Going to Boston would be great for basketball and for fans to see Kevin and I reunited, like when we were younger. There is some hope, if I can get out of my contract and they're interested in me. How can you deny the chance?Trade rumors to Celtics Personal Friends and family Marbury is a cousin of Marcus Harper and Sebastian Telfair. Additionally, his brother Zach plays professional basketball in Venezuela.Zach Marbury, Stephon's Brother, Will Play in Venezuela NY Times, January 25, 2009 Marbury's father Don died during a December 2, 2007 game between the Knicks and the Phoenix Suns.Suns stifle Knicks behind Hill; Marbury's father dies, December 2, 2007 Gallery StephonMarbury.jpg External links * * References Category:Born in 1977 Category:New York natives Category:American basketball players Category:American expatriates to China Category:Chinese Basketball Association players Category:Beijing Ducks players Category:National Basketball Association players Category:Boston Celtics players Category:Minnesota Timberwolves players Category:New Jersey Nets players Category:New York Knicks players Category:Milwaukee Bucks draft picks Category:Georgia Tech Alumni Category:Players who wear/wore number 3 Category:Players who wear/wore number 8 Category:Olympic basketball players of the United States Category:Basketball players at the 2004 Summer Olympics Category:NBA All-Star participants Category:Players who won the NBA Championship